Mylan to produce generic of Gilead's HIV drug

Agreement will help accelerate access to generic single and fixed-dose combination ARVs containing emtricitabine

Mylan will produce generic version of Gilead's HIV drug

Singapore: Mylan signed a new agreement between its subsidiary Mylan Laboratories and Gilead Sciences. According top this agreement, Mylan licensed the rights to produce and market generic versions of Gilead HIV/AIDS therapies containing Emtricitabine, including single and fixed-dose combinations.

Emtricitabine is marketed by Gilead under the brand name Emtriva, and a fixed-dose combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is available under the brand name Truvada. Emtricitabine also is a component of the Quad, an investigational medicine that combines four Gilead medicines in a once-daily, single tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Mr Heather Bresch, CEO, Mylan, said that, "Access to affordable medicine continues to be an acute need in tackling HIV/AIDS, and once again we are delighted to be collaborating with Gilead in these efforts. Mylan is focused on expanding access to high-quality treatments to those in need around the world. Partnerships like this one ensure that patients in developing markets have access to important, recommended treatment options, like those containing emtricitabine."

Under previously-signed licensing agreements with Gilead, Mylan Laboratories obtained licensing rights to several Gilead products, which are currently in late-stage clinical development, including Elvitegravir, an investigational integrase inhibitor; Cobicistat, an investigational boosting agent to increase blood levels and allow once-daily dosing for certain HIV medicines; and the Quad.

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As we all know, generic drugs are subject to the regulations of the governments of countries where they are dispensed. Generic drugs are labeled with the name of the manufacturer and the adopted name of the drug. Because of a federal law passed more than 20 years back, prescription companies can only hold a patent on a drug for so long. When the patent window ends, generic drug businesses can copy it and sell it for less expensive as generic. Generic drugs, though bemoaned by Big Pharma, have a href="http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/08/03/generic-drugs/" saved consumers over $1 trillion in the last ten years /a .